hands
by RebelutionaryWrites
Summary: Cole Bucket is stumped. His new, mortal body is great, sure, but his hands? They're a mystery the ninja of earth is afraid he'll never solve. He decides to enlist the help of Jay and Zane on a mission to find the purpose and cause of his new powers.. before he loses all hope. Set shortly after Hands of Time.
1. introductions and idiosyncrasies

**Hi, I'm Rebelutionary, and this is my very first story on Fanfiction. This story started as a oneshot of Cole's insecurities, but as I thought about it more, it was pretty clear that I needed to widen it out to a full-on adventure story. And for you people like me: yes. There will be Jay.**

 **How about I stop blabbing and let you figure it out for yourself. Presenting, _Hands_!**

-Cole-

I'm not sure what's up with my hands.

Sure, they're mostly like normal hands. Four fingers. Thumb. Palm and back of hand. Muscles work fine.

But something.. something _changed_ when I became a human again. No one knows why, much less how.

The thing is, my hands glow.

Scratch that- my hands, wrists, and whole lower arm glow. They always turn a bright orange, which I guess would be helpful if I was a crossing guard. Unfortunately, that's not exactly my career path.

When the others discovered my new 'talent,' there were different reactions. Jay was thrilled- "Dude, you can be a nightlight!" Nya and Lloyd were just happy that I was safe. Zane was as intrigued as a sixty year old robot can be. And Kai avoided me for a week.

Isn't it strange that one something you hate leaves, it's replaced by something less-but-still horrible?

My ghostliness was just plain annoying with all of the focus-or-you'll-drop-something junk. Brushing your teeth as your mind wonders? There goes your toothbrush. Carrying a near famous Cole Bucket Sundae (a giant ice cream sundae with almost every sweet thing in our pantry on it) while thinking about how good it'll taste? _Crash_! There it goes. Ice cream dreams dying like my dignity.

But glowing hands? That's just odd.

I have no idea what the significance of the glow is. It starts at random times, more when my heart rate is up, but never on command.

And the thing that bothers me the most is the fuzzy feeling I get when it happens. My whole body numbs up. My instincts overrule my mind.

I've been living with my new body for three weeks now. At the beginning everything was about learning how to be human again. Reintroducing myself to showers. Remembering how to swim. Reminding myself that drinking water is not deadly (which is actually quite a luxury- humans don't know how good they have it). Not to mention Righty and Lefty.

We weren't prepared to do what we did the second week- that is, fight time-traveling twin brothers while rescuing Kai and Nya's parents (who we didn't know existed) and the rest of Ninjago. The mission was long and hard, but at least I was distracted and not thinking about.. that.

Now, with Wu nowhere to be found, I feel like I've lost my sense of peace. Wu gave me direction. He set my eyes on the right path, let me see where it led, and always gave me a proud look when I came back to him. Like the father I never had.

The longer I go without knowing, the more I want to know. The longer Wu is gone, the more I _need_ to know.

But if one thing's for sure about me, it's that I won't stop what I start. I'm going to find all my answers.

My only concern is _how_...

 **So there you go. First chapter. Kind of an odd mix of comedy and tragedy, but, hey, I think it's pretty good.**

 **I hope y'all like cliffhangers. I have a feeling there's gonna be a lot of 'em.**


	2. mornings and meetings

**Hello a year into the future! *jazz hands***

 **I had a long hiatus (read: i forgot this site existed lol) but now I'm back and have plenty of stories to tell! Last week I published my first little oneshot to get back into the swing of things, but we're all really just waiting for the second chapter of Hands :) Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites so far! Those little notifications just make my day.**

 **Yeah. So this is chapter two. Enjoy. *dims the lights***

* * *

 _mornings and meetings_

Punch the bad guy. Hit the villain. Do Spinjitzu every once in a while. That's pretty much how it's been since Wu left.

Sunrise Exercise has always been a mix of exciting and treacherous. Exciting because Wu would sometimes teach us a cool new move with ancient magic. Treacherous because every moment not learning is spent in either review or, even more stupid, meditation. And now that Wu's gone, Lloyd leads us in meditation every morning. So fun.

I'll admit. Lloyd is trying his best to fill his new role as Master Lloyd. I would be struggling too if I were suddenly thrown into becoming a master. He's taking on loads a kid of his age shouldn't – organizing search parties, setting up social events, and arranging solo missions all while mourning over his uncle. We're really proud of how much our little brat has grown up over the years.

But, seriously, it wouldn't hurt to look up 'cool ninja moves' on YouTube or something.

Today is just the same as any other day. We're sitting crisscross-applesauce in the courtyard, eyes closed, being told over and over to 'clear our minds,' whatever that means. What I really want is a piece of _cake_. What I would do for a little slice of heaven in my mouth right now. All decorated with dollops of chocolate frosting, the fluffy, bouncy cake light and soft on the inside. The sugary frosting combined with the subtle taste of the cake make the treat amazing, but also addicting.

I grimace. I gave up cake two weeks ago, and it's only getting harder as each day passes. _Man up, Cole. Your body is a temple. A sturdy, cakeless temple._

Lloyd calls for us to switch positions, and we fall into some sort of yoga pose with one leg out and one tucked in. No matter how often we stretch, my stubborn muscles refuse to ease up. I can't tell whether I should be feeling more pain on my stretched leg or my tucked leg, so I decide this pose was designed to torture a guy in two different places at once.

"Pst, Cole."

Beside me, Jay leans way into his stretch, looking to me expectantly. I don't want to admit how impressed I am at his flexibility, but I don't think people were meant to touch their head to their kneecap. Instead of saying this, I roll my eyes. "We're supposed to be quiet, dunce."

"I was wondering if you'd found out anything about the ghost stuff." When I don't reply right away, he continues. "You know. _Yo manos_."

"You just said 'me hands' in Spanish."

Jay cocks his head in a deadpan look. "Whatever. Did you find anything about them on the internet?"

"Well, it turns out that no one else in Ninjago has ever been turned into a ghost, fought with a spirit Sensei, or broken the laws of space and time to jump through a magic rift. So, no, I didn't find anything about lava hands on Google."

"Jay, Cole, quit talking," Lloyd calls wearily from the front. It's become a common phrase the past few days. I feel sort of bad adding to Lloyd's stress, but I guess it's payback for the evil stretching he makes us do.

"Okay, okay," Jay murmurs only slightly softer. "What about triggering it? I know you've been using it for a while with the Time Twins and all, but–"

"It's a little better to control," I admit, focusing hard on my element. In a moment, the fingers of my left hand are glowing orange, the magma inside pulsing like hot blood. Slightly uncomfortable, I retract my powers.

Jay's eyes are wide as he folds himself in half on his mat. "That is so cool. Hey, after training, why don't we test some stuff? See what these babies can do."

"First of all," I growl, "don't ever call my hands babies again. Second, we have stuff to do, remember? Master Wu's out there somewhere, and we can't waste a moment we could be looking for him."

Confession time. Honestly, I'm a little intimidated by the full capability of my powers. I don't want to wake up one morning as a lava monster, but I also wonder if 'super strong powers' are the only skills on my hands' resume.

"C'mon, man, what are you scared about?" Jay and I move into another pose, this one even more excruciating than the last. He plays up his flexible body, going the extra mile and grinning at my stiff 'stretch.'

"I'm not scared," I retort stubbornly, "I'm careful. Unlike you, I'm the one who has the lava hands, and I kind of don't want to burn my face off. What I really need is to figure out the cause behind all this."

Jay gives an understanding nod. I continue, quieter since Nya's giving us annoyed looks. "Besides, don't you think the reasoning behind my powers would show me how to make them grow? I don't know where to even start, though. The internet isn't any help."

"Can'ya ask Misako? She's pretty good with prophecies, legends, that sort of thing."

"I would, but I think this situation might be ghost exclusive."

"Well, it's not like we can raise Morro's ghost again," Jay mumbles, and I'm hit with an idea so quickly, I don't even hear Lloyd order us around. We can't raise Morro, but I just might happen to know a guy – a _ghost_ – who can help.

My plans screech to a halt when Lloyd rudely tells me to move my butt or suffer the consequences of toilet-cleaning duty. Sometimes, I regret making a 14-year-old kid our master. Soon enough, he'll be dumping all his chores on us.

/

I rush through my after-training routines, getting cleaned up for the day. Without a word to my teammates, I steal up the temple stairs and into the attic. Cobwebs hang like streamers on the walls, swaying in the breeze I've created with my entrance.

The Temple of Airjitzu isn't my favorite place in the world. It was here where I was scared half to death by rouge ghost students, initially cursed into becoming a spirit, and… well, I don't quite remember what else happened here, but I think it had something to do with Nya. All these bad memories render me love for our new home. But there is _one_ decent thing about the Temple, and nobody else knows what it is.

I weave my way through the musty attic, tapping into my Earth Punch for light. The soft orange glow leads me to a portrait, ages old and devastated in time. The man in the painting appears stern, like he'll give you 100 push-ups for coughing after he's told you to be quiet. I know the likeness isn't realistic and my friend has changed since then, but the dark expression on the weathered old face still makes my throat go dry.

I take a seat before the portrait, sighing deeply and praying that the spiders don't get me. Here goes nothing.

"Master Yang?"

My voice echoes through the emptiness, two words repeated over and over in the darkness. Ten seconds pass, then twenty. I tense, waiting for a reply. Thirty seconds. It doesn't usually take this–

"Cole!" A low voice exclaims happily. I start, looking over my shoulder to see a ghost with a long, black beard and silver hat floating over me, chuckling like a jolly old sailor who's had a bottle extra of rum.

"Master Yang!" I say, relieved. "I was worried there for a minute that you'd… I donno, touched water or something."

"Oh, no, I just could not bear to pull myself from listening to the fire ninja in his bathroom when you called me. The boy is singing anime karaoke in the shower and, First Spinjitzu Master, is he truly awful." He held back a snicker. "I've been listening for an hour."

I smirk. Perhaps I should keep that special tidbit of information stored for blackmail. "That's okay, man. I need a bit of help with something, though."

"You want to find out about your hands, what they mean."

Surprised, I nod. "How'd you guess that?"

"I can't stay crammed inside this dreaded house all day, Cole. Oftentimes, I spend the mornings outside, trying my hand at Sunrise Exercise. Which, by the way, is a very honorable practice. You should respect your Sensei more. After all, as iron sharpens–"

"Yes, but how did this happen to me?" I cut in, tired of the phrase.

The old sensei looks put off at my interruption but happens to spare me a lecture on respect. "The rift obviously gave you your human body back, but your powers came before that. When you realized your friends remembered you after all. Could it be a second full potential?"

I frowned, "It can't be. My full potential was different. I had it, and I knew exactly what to do. Like… like all the steps were laid before me. And I have a feeling that couldn't be anyway."

"A feeling?"

"Yeah. There's this sense in my mind or something. My powers aren't some coincidence. They're unique to me."

Yang isn't looking at me. He's petting a little spider that rests on his portrait with his pointer finger. I start to wonder if he's even listening, but he looks back at me with docile seriousness. "Have you had someone close to you pass to the Departed Realm?"

Well, that was out of the blue. "A couple. Why?"

The ghost gives a vague nod. He looks over and smiles suddenly. "Look. You have a visitor."

At first, I worry that he means the ninja have found me, but he's staring at my leg. A spider the size of my thumb has made my thigh his personal climbing wall and – from what I can tell – midday snack. I shriek and flail backwards in a very unmasculine way, simultaneously swiping my gi pants and rolling backwards.

As I triple-check for spiders, Yang chuckles. "You have much to learn, Earth ninja, so much to learn."

"You're not really going to leave me in suspense about this, are you? At least answer my question!"

"We Senseis like to mull over our plans until they are flawless," Yang replies knowingly. "Give me some time to process and observe."

"Don't tell me you're going to be watching me in the shower," I groan.

Yang shrugs, floating again. "Sing anything but country music and I will be there." He reaches up to his portrait and, with a small green flash, is sucked into his own head. The grouchy face morphs into one of an amused soul's. "For now, test your limits. I cannot see the harm in trying out these new abilities."

I let my hands shine a little brighter – man, that is a strange sentence. "Got it." Raising to both feet, I avoid the webs like the plague and begin to leave.

"Cole?"

"Yes, Sensei?"

"Would you film the red ninja singing for me? It gets boring here at night sometimes, but that _Pokémon_ song…"

"I'm on it," I laugh, leaving the ghost to his own devices.

I've got some experimenting to do.

* * *

 ***still doing jazz hands***

 **Yes I do headcanon that Yang watched and meddled with the ninja during their stay in the Temple ;) Poor guy's probably just sitting up there all alone now... waiting for Cole... *sniff***

 **I hope you liked it and it was at least sort of worth the wait! I know some things were inconsistent from the first chapter, but that was written a year ago. Take it with a grain of salt, would ya?**

 **Join next week for the next installation 3**


End file.
